Nautilus Than Perfect by K.L. Hiers

Chapter 2.

“A GOD?”Chase repeated.

Merrick seemed more concerned with the state of his shirt, sighing at the torn fabric. He shook his head as he brushed by Chase to go back inside the factory. “Yes, a god.”

“What… I….” Chase wiped at his eyes as he struggled to make sense of this. “The tentacles, that’s… those are real. You’re a god. A Sagittarian god.”

“Yes,” Merrick said flatly, urging Chase to follow him inside. “Now come on. I may be able to track the portal’s path, and we can follow them.”

“Hold the fuck up!” Chase snapped, right on Merrick’s heels as he led them back to the stairs. “Will you wait a fucking second? You don’t get to fall out of fucking windows, make me think you’re dead, and just act like, oops, it’s not a big deal ’cause you’re a god! Not without answering some questions!”

“Fine,” Merrick said, turning around to face Chase in a huff. “I am Gordoth the Untouched, brother of Salgumel, Shartorath, Yeris, Ulgon, Elgrirath, Zarnorach, Xarbon, Solmach, Eb, Ebb, Ebbeth, and Lozathin. I was spawned by Baub, the child of Zunnerath and Halandrach, they who were born of Etheril and Xarapharos, descended directly from Great Azaethoth himself.”

“Gordoth.” Chase drew a blank. “And he’s the god of what again?”

“Justice and righteous wrath!” Merrick replied shortly. He pointed down at the floor. “Look, the flare was destroyed. Our new friends must be using some sort of powerful artifact. It was how they were able to destroy the flare from such a great distance.”

“Fuck, that’s how they summoned the portal?” Chase finally took in the shattered pieces. “I’ve never heard of anything powerful enough to break a silencing flare like this before.”

“I have, but it is old. Very old, like the protection wards they were using.” Merrick headed up the stairs. “They must have found a rare cache of ancient magic somewhere.”

“They? You mean ghoul face and company?”

“Yes, but he is not a ghoul. He is human. I do not know the source of his decomposition. It is a magic that I am not familiar with but—”

“Can we get back to the whole you being a god thing for a fuckin’ second?”

“Later,” Merrick said briskly.

“Hey!” Chase hated how out of breath he was, but he managed to catch Merrick’s arm at the top of the stairs. “You asshole, I thought you were dead! Do you have any fuckin’ idea how scared I was?”

Merrick flinched, but he didn’t pull away. “I did not mean to worry you. As you can see, I am perfectly fine.”

“Start talking,” Chase demanded, giving Merrick’s arm a firm tug. “Why the fuck is a god down here playing cops and robbers?”

Merrick made a face. “I suppose I owe you an explanation. I have been very dishonest about my identity.”

“No shit.” Chase let go and crossed his arms over his broad chest. “Was there ever even a real Benjamin Merrick?”

“Yes, there was.” Merrick looked sad. “He was a brave man, a dedicated follower, and a seeker of justice.”

“Was?” Chase felt sick.

“He prayed to me daily,” Merrick explained. “He was a great champion of the law, and I woke up from the dreaming to help him often. I led him to victory many times, but it was my pride that killed him. He wanted to defeat the Luchesi cartel—”

“The Luchesi Massacre,” Chase blurted out. Of all the stories told about Merrick’s career, it was one of the most infamous. “You walked in on what was supposed to be a money drop, but it was an arms deal. Thirty men and you. I always fuckin’ wondered how the hell you made it out!”

“I did not,” Merrick sighed. “At least, that is to say Merrick did not.”

“Fuck.”

“It was my pride that sent him there. I found out where a high-ranking member of the Luchesi family was going to be, and I gave him a vision of the location. I wanted the victory of this man’s arrest as much as he did, and I was blinded by the glory it would bring to my name.

“Merrick died before I could save him, and I took over his body to punish those responsible for his murder. I grievously misunderstood the nature of the meeting, and I had sent him straight to his death. I could not abide the idea that such a great man’s life was lost because of my arrogance… so….”

“You’ve been chilling in the driver’s seat, pretending to be Merrick?” Chase concluded.

“His legacy should not have ended there,” Merrick said stubbornly. “I was responsible, and I intend to see this through.”

“Until when exactly?”

“Until I am satisfied I have given Merrick the legacy he deserves.” Merrick sighed again. “I am now trusting you will be discreet about this. If the world finds out that old gods are walking amongst mortals, there will be a terrible panic.”

“But you guys are real,” Chase argued. “I mean, fuck! All of this time, I had no idea what to fuckin’ believe in, and here you are!”

“Yes, here I am.”

“That’s it?” Chase scoffed. “This, this is some life-changing shit!”

“That I expect you to keep to yourself,” Merrick said firmly. “If Great Azaethoth wanted the gods to make ourselves known to mankind again, he would rise himself. Until then, we must keep this between us.”

Chase stared as Merrick walked back into the office, and he scrambled for something to say.

He could have made a joke about how at least he didn’t need to feel bad about his paperwork since he was apparently being proofread by an immortal. He also seriously needed to look into the Sagittarian faith, because it was pretty sad he’d actually met a living god and had no idea who he was.

However, the only lingering thought he could focus on was how even more painfully out of his league Merrick was now.

It was bad enough when Merrick was a flesh-and-blood human, but now that he was a god?

No way.

“Are you coming?” Merrick called out.

“Yeah, yeah.” Chase buried his heartache and hurried into the office, finding Merrick looking over the corner where the portal had been. “Anything?”

“No.” Merrick scowled. “I cannot track the portal.” He narrowed his eyes at Chase. “Perhaps if you had not been so distracted by my identity, I could have tried this while there was still some trace of it left.”

“Wow.” Chase smacked his lips. “That sort of sounds like you’re blaming me.”

“Because I am.”

“Were you always this much of a prick?” Chase snapped. “Or is it because now I know who you are, you’ve let your hair down a bit? Decided to just go full asshole deity, huh?”

“Your judgment is clouded.”

“Uh, yeah, a bit, because I’m still trying to get over seeing my partner split in fuckin’ half!” Chase hated how easily his voice rose. “Tiny bit traumatizing!”

“I can only conclude the man I fought fled through the portal before it closed,” Merrick went on, ignoring Chase. “There are still some frames over there, though I thought there were more when we first entered the room.”

The stack of frames had been knocked over, and only three remained.

Chase kneeled down to lift one up, finding what was left of a painting. It looked and smelled like it had been dipped in paint thinner, and the original subject was indecipherable. The paint had been eaten away to reveal several long paragraphs of writing hidden beneath.

It wasn’t in any language Chase had ever seen, and he checked the other paintings to find they were the same. “Any idea what this shit says, your godliness?”

“It is definitely godstongue,” Merrick replied, kneeling down to take a closer look.

“Language written by the gods for the gods, right?”

“Yes.”

“So, can you read it?”

“No.”

“Why the hell not?” Chase stood up, letting the paintings fall back on the floor.

“It was not written for me,” Merrick said, “but it must have been very important. Those men were willing to murder two officers to secure them.”

“But not these,” Chase pointed out.

“Perhaps they already had all the information they needed from these ones.” Merrick’s brow crinkled.

“What is it?”

“Hmm?”

“You’ve got your thinking face on.”

“The old protection wards, the ability to destroy the silencing flare, and now these paintings that were obscuring godstongue that has not been read in hundreds of years,” Merrick listed off carefully. “I believe these men are devoted to the worship of my brother Salgumel.”

“Dream guy,” Chase recalled.

“Yes.” Merrick scowled. “I believe these may be part of a set of paintings commissioned by Lord Harrison Collins in the seventeenth century. There were eight in all, one for each of the Sagittarian holidays. One was stolen from auction last year, and I believe there were others taken from a warehouse.”

“Yeah, hey, I remember that!” Chase exclaimed. “The auction got robbed after that fire took out the day center for the deaf and blind kids and the damn dog park.”

“Forensics will be able to confirm if these are in fact those missing paintings.” Merrick reached for his phone, patting his pocket. “I seem to have lost my phone.”

“Down in the dumpster?”

“I am going to try and retrieve it,” Merrick said. “We need to call this in. We need to confirm if these are Lord Collins’s paintings as soon as possible.”

“What’s his deal?”

“He was reported to have hidden a ritual in the paintings that could awaken Salgumel.” Merrick walked over to the broken window. “And before you ask, yes, it is bad. Most of my family sleeps very peacefully in the dreaming, but my brother has gone mad.”

“Mad?” Chase’s stomach turned. “Like crazy?”

“I believe he would destroy the world if he woke up and saw it in its current state,” Merrick said, holding out his arm. From his coat sleeve, thick green tentacles spiraled downward, reaching to the dumpster below.

Trying not to stare, Chase stammered, “O-okay, so, so since those guys are big worshippers, I am gonna guess that they’re cool with all of that.”

“I do not want to make assumptions, but yes, I would say they are very ‘cool’ with it.” Merrick’s tentacles came back in, curled around what was left of his phone. The screen was shattered, and he gritted his teeth. “Ah, just great.”

“I’ll call.” Chase got his phone, preparing to dial.

“And what are you going to tell them?”

“I’m not gonna say anything about you and your little tentacle swan dive, if that’s what you’re worried about. What, you don’t trust me?”

“I do trust you,” Merrick insisted. “I trust you with my life.”

“That’s rich considering you’re immortal.”

“But you did not know that, and you still went to great lengths to protect me.” Merrick stood up straighter. “Your efforts have not gone without notice.”

“My efforts,” Chase echoed, not sure what to make of that. He caught himself staring at Merrick and grimaced, turning away to make the call.

“It is very much appreciated.” Merrick boldly placed his hand on Chase’s shoulder. “Please do not mistake my current frustration for any ill will toward you.”

Chase put his hand over Merrick’s, and his pulse pattered a little faster. “It’s no big deal. Just, uh, you know, still trying to make sense of all this.”

“I do not want our professional relationship to be affected,” Merrick said, surprisingly earnest. “I am still Detective Benjamin Merrick.”

“But also Gordock.”

“Gordoth,” Merrick corrected. “Please. I do not want your feelings about working with me to change.”

Your feelings….

Swallowing around the lump in his throat, Chase forced a smile. “Don’t worry. I don’t think they could if you tried.” He held up his phone. “Gimme a second?”

“Of course,” Merrick said, stepping away to give him some space.

Chase informed dispatch of the situation and assured them no one was hurt. He left out any details about Merrick’s true identity, and he did his best to give a description of Bandage Face and some of the other men.

After hanging up, Chase said, “All right, they’re on their way.”

“Thank you.” Merrick offered a small smile.

“For what?”

“For showing me my trust in you was not misplaced.” Merrick’s smile broadened. “In spite of your questionable hygiene, your lack of punctuality, your intense hatred of spelling—”

“Yeah, yeah,” Chase grumbled.

“—and I know you have not eaten anything that is not full of processed sugar in years—”

“Okay, okay!” Chase raised his voice. “I get it!”

“—but you are a wonderful human being,” Merrick finished, stubbornly lifting his head. “It has been an honor dispatching justice to the wicked with you. You would make a splendid disciple.”

“Thanks.” Chase tried to take the compliment, but he only felt worse.

“What is wrong?” Merrick almost seemed to be pouting. “I did not mean to offend you.”

“It’s fine.” Chase smirked. “Pretty high praise from a god, right?”

Merrick’s grimace deepened.

“So,” Chase said, tiptoeing to the broken window and glancing outside, “is it true you guys had tentacle orgies? Was that really a thing?”

“You have discovered I am an ancient immortal, and that is the first thing you ask me?” Merrick actually laughed.

“Well, yeah.” Chase grinned. “Priorities.”

“There were many fertility celebrations,” Merrick replied. He sounded bashful. “It was common for worshippers to offer their bodies to us. Due to the nature of our anatomy, ahem, we can copulate with more than one mortal at a time.”

“So, orgies.”

“Of a religious nature.”

“By anatomy, do you mean what I think you mean?” Chase had quite the imagination, but he was dying to hear details.

“Most of the gods have multiple appendages for mating.” Merrick ducked his head. “Though we do not actually need a partner for reproduction.”

“Where’s the fun in that?” Chase teased.

Merrick laughed, smiling again. “My father, Baub, personally spawned thirteen of us in all.”

“So you’ve got twelve siblings?”

“More still if you count my half brothers and sisters.” Merrick cocked his head. “You really do not know anything about the gods, do you.”

“No, not really,” Chase admitted. “I know some of the names, I know a few holidays, and uh, that’s about it. Definitely wanna hear more about the copulating.”

“Now you are being obscene.”

“What?” Chase grinned slyly. “I’m a heathen. I don’t know any better. Educate me.”

“No.” Merrick’s tone was firm, but he was smiling.

“Got it, you’re not an easy god. I respect that.” Chase winked. “Need to buy you dinner before you show me the tentacled goods.”

“Detective Chase!” Merrick’s eyes widened. “Are you… are you flirting with me?”

“Damn, you are a good detective.”

“That is not acceptable behavior,” Merrick scolded. “Is this because now you know I am a god, you expect me to be promiscuous?”

“What?” Chase huffed. “Come on.”

“I told you that I did not want this to affect our working relationship,” Merrick grumbled. “I expected better from you.”

“I’m joking, for fuck’s sake.”

“Well, it is not funny,” Merrick continued to complain. “The nature of my intimate parts is not up for discussion.”

“For the record, I wanted to know all about your intimate parts before I found out you were a god,” Chase said honestly.

Merrick didn’t immediately respond, and he looked confused. “Are you referring to the clothing-optional invitation?”

“The one we’ve never, ever talked about?” Chase leaned against one of the desks. He didn’t see any point in hiding his feelings now. “Yeah, that one.”

“I am not here to partake in physical pleasures, no matter how tempting you may be.”

“Wait, tempting?” Chase couldn’t have heard him correctly. “You think I’m tempting?”

“Obviously,” Merrick huffed. “It is why I had to refuse your advances that night. I cannot allow myself to become distracted by your sensual sorcery.”

“Sensual what now?” Chase questioned if he was awake right now and almost pinched himself to check.

“It does not matter,” Merrick hissed impatiently. “You are my partner, and it would be detrimental to Merrick’s future in law enforcement to become sexually involved with a coworker.”

“Okay, the speaking in third person is weird—”

“Do not bring this up again,” Merrick snapped. “For my sake and Merrick’s, I must insist you stop right now. I cannot risk damaging his legacy over physical pleasures. I do not know how else I can refuse you and make you understand.”

“Listen to me,” Chase pleaded, a flicker of hope rekindling inside of him and spurring him on. “I never thought in a million years that you’d ever be into me! I didn’t have a clue! I don’t just want physical pleasures, okay? I’m sure that’s all super great with your tentacles and appendages or whatever, but I’m—”

“Detective Chase, please,” Merrick said firmly, holding up his hands for silence. He shook his head, his face contorting in pain. “Please stop.”

The words were right on the tip of Chase’s tongue.

But I’m in love with you, you big, beautiful idiot!

He couldn’t bring himself to say it, seeing how upset Merrick already was, and he fell silent. His mind was still reeling from learning that Merrick had found him attractive all of this time—What the hell was sensual sorcery anyway?—and he planned to ride that stroke to his ego and hold on to it for as long as he could.

It wasn’t a confession of undying affection, but it was much more than he ever thought he would have.

Chase heard some car doors shut, and he looked outside through the broken window. He did his best to remain calm in spite of his turbulent emotions, announcing, “Our guys are here.”

“Good,” Merrick said, taking a deep breath as if to collect himself. “We must make haste. Those men have a ritual that may bring about the end of the world.”

“I’ll go get ’em.” Chase headed downstairs before Merrick could argue. He needed to get some distance and clear his head. Finding out the guy he was in love with was actually a god was taking some time to process.

Not to mention that said god found him so very tempting but wasn’t interested in a relationship.

How disgustingly ironic.

“Hey there!” Milo Evans, one of their forensic techs, greeted him at the front door. He was round and bearded, not too much unlike Chase, although much younger. “How’s it going?”

“Fine,” Chase said more abruptly than he meant to as he brushed by. “Follow the stairs. Merrick is up there.”

“Okay, grumpy,” Milo said with a pout.

“Aww, is somebody having a bad day?” Daisy Lopez asked sweetly, right on Milo’s heels. She was another forensic technician with a chipper attitude to match her festive pigtails.

She was also a rampant pastry hog if Merrick was to be believed.

“You should be celebrating! You might have just recovered Lord Collins’s paintings!” Daisy went on with a bright smile. “Do you have any idea how freakin’ cool that is? More than enough of a reason to turn that mean ol’ frown upside down!”

“Well, he did get shot at,” Milo warned. “Maybe leave Big Red alone for right now?”

“Do you need a hug, Detective Chase?” Daisy frowned. “You don’t look so great.”

“I’m just ducky,” Chase muttered, continuing on to Merrick’s car. He found the pack of cigarettes stashed in the glove box and lit one up with a small flame produced by a snap of his fingers.

Ignis vitae, the one and only spell he could cast without speaking.

Merrick didn’t smoke, but he knew Chase did and liked to have one on particularly stressful days.

Thoughtful jerk god.

Chase was on his third when Merrick came down to find him.

“Milo and Daisy are going to be processing the scene for the rest of the afternoon,” Merrick said. “They have already recovered several sets of prints, and they hope to identify some of our suspects soon. APB has already been issued based on our descriptions.”

“Those guys could already be out of the city by now.” Chase sighed.

“Portal ranges for humans are very limited. Even the most talented mortal witches can only travel a few hundred yards.”

“Yeah, I know, we puny humans have these stupid limitations—” Chase rolled his eyes. “—but all they gotta do is jump over to the nearest car and boom, they got wheels.”

“I do not think they will leave the city,” Merrick said carefully.

“Why not?”

“There is a weakness here.”

“What kinda weakness?”

“In the veil that separates Aeon from the worlds beyond,” Merrick replied, dropping his voice. “About two decades ago, it was fractured. If someone wanted to reach the other side into Zebulon, where the gods are sleeping, this would be an optimal location.”

“Oh, goody.” Chase took a long drag of his cigarette. “So, let’s say they’re staying here. We still have no idea where to find them. And don’t you dare bring up your bullshit ‘I coulda traced the portal’ crap.”

Merrick audibly clicked his teeth together, as if to stop himself from saying just that. He cleared his throat. “Well, what do you propose, then? We are at a loss until Mr. Evans and Miss Lopez are able to divulge any findings from the evidence.”

“What about the paintings?” Chase asked. “Maybe there’s a clue in this ritual, like a location or something. Maybe it has to be done by a river or in a circle of oak trees. Something specific that could help us figure out where they might be.”

“I believe it is the godstongue of Salgumel,” Merrick said sullenly. “I do not know anyone, god or mortal, who would be able to translate it. The department’s linguist quit, remember?”

“Yeah, I know.” Chase’s stomach turned. “Real shame. He was a good kid.”

“I doubt that he would have been able to translate the godstongue, but it would have been nice to have the option. I wonder if we can look him up—”

“Hey, there was this professor who had a huge boner for Salgumel….” Chase felt a stabbing pain in his head and clutched his temples. “Fuck!”

“What is the matter?” Merrick made as if to reach for Chase but pulled away.

“There’s something wrong with me.” Chase gasped as his entire head started pounding. He dropped his cigarette, and he had to lean against the car to steady himself.

The harder he tried to remember, the worse the pain got until he was nearly in tears.

“May I touch you, Detective Chase?” Merrick asked urgently. “I wish to help you.”

“Yeah, fine! Fuck! Whatever!”

Merrick stepped right into Chase’s space and put his hand on his chest.

Chase gasped when the smooth flesh of one of Merrick’s tentacles slipped in between the buttons of his shirt to meet bare skin. He felt an incredible joy he’d never experienced before, a bliss that brought on a fresh wave of tears and made his knees weak. He grabbed onto Merrick’s shoulders to brace himself, and he almost sobbed.

“Breathe, Detective Chase,” Merrick soothed. “It is almost over.”

The pain faded away, and Chase found he could think more clearly. This wasn’t just Merrick touching him—no, this was a god, an immortal being of unimaginable strength, and Chase could sense the echoes of an ancient power that made him feel like a tiny little ant in comparison.

Merrick’s eyes had become black again, two endless voids full of millions of stars. It was overwhelming to touch something so divine, and the tender way Merrick was gazing at him made the moment even sweeter. If Chase had any lingering doubts about what Merrick truly was, they would have been all gone now.

Chase managed to break out of the euphoric daze before he got too emotional, but not before teasing, “You know, you can call me Elwood when your hand is down my shirt.”

“My apologies… I…,” Merrick sputtered. “I was just… I wanted to help!”

“Don’t worry about it,” Chase said, enjoying Merrick’s embarrassment.

“Has your pain receded?”

“Yeah, thanks.”

“Someone tried to erase your memory,” Merrick said as he backed away. “I believe I have removed what was blocking you.”

“Salgumel. Right. Yeah! There was this professor named Emil Kunst who was a fuckin’ expert on him, and….” Chase took a deep breath as it all came rushing back to him. “That son of a bitch! And he took my fuckin’ badge!”

“What?” Merrick was startled.

“You got a nephew named Azaethoth?”

“Azaethoth the Lesser.” Merrick blinked. “Why?”

“Because I’m about to go kick his godly ass!”